First & Fifth Year Duo Add Another Piece Of Hardware To Award Shelf

By Press release submission

Jul 1, 2022

The first and fifth year duo grabbed one last piece of hardware for their shelves, as Jaden Pone and Sydney Backstrom represent Longwood on the embargo VaSID 2022 All-State First Team.

Both Pone and Backstrom earned the ranks of two of the best seasons on the Longwood roster in 2022 on both the offense side, and defensive.

For Pone, she led the team in several categories including batting average, hits, runs, on base percentage, stolen bases, and triples. She was also amongst the top on the team for overall fielding percentages.

Following her first year in a Longwood uniform, Pone now has earned a Freshman of the Year title, Big South First Team, Freshman Team, and now an VaSID All-State recognition; all while adding her name in Longwood's record books as a true freshman.

The fifth year graduate student, Sydney Backstrom, is no stranger to breaking records and adding hardware to her shelf following one of her best single-season performances as a Lancer.

This All-State award adds to Backstrom's already earned Big South Pitcher of the Year and First Team recognition, Third Team All-Region honor, as well as all the charts she toped in terms of career, single-season, and single-game records she shattered in 2022.

Longwood has 10 active players returning for the 2022-23 year. The team has locked in several new recruits to add to the building of success across the softball program.

Coach of the Year

Pete D'Amour/Virginia Tech

Pitcher of the Year

Keely Rochard/Virginia Tech

Player of the Year

Emma Ritter/Virginia Tech

Rookie of the Year

Emma Lemley/Virginia Tech

First Team

Caroline Hudson/Catcher/Liberty University

Meredith Slaw/Designated Player/Utility/Virginia Tech

Hannah Shifflett/First Base/James Madison University